Standing is Magic for Your Climbing
Standing isn’t just about attacking, it’s a tool that can completely change how you climb. If you watched the pro race Il Lombardia today you would have seen the pro’s do these five things on the climbs. Here’s why:
1. More Power
When you stand, you can use your body weight to add power to the pedals, that’s free watts! Of course you have to spend time training it to become efficient doing it.
2. Better Body Position
Standing lets you open your hips, take pressure off your back, and move your center of gravity for better balance, especially on steep climbs where it’s hard to stay centered.
3. Optimized Pedal Stroke
When the road tilts up, your bike angles more vertically. That means your pedaling position (which feels great on the trainer or flat roads) completely changes. Standing helps you find that optimal pedal stroke again when the pitch changes.
4. Acceleration Tool
Need to surge? Standing lets you drop your body weight fast into each pedal stroke — giving you that extra 100–200 watts to make the difference.
5. Momentum and Flow
Standing also helps you lunge your body weight forward — like a bike throw — to carry momentum through transitions from steep to shallow gradients.
Standing can be used for more than just attacking. It can be used for adapting. It’s for finding balance, flow, and free power when the road turns up.